Thanks Rep. Marty Seifert

Today Representatives Jim Abeler, Kathy Tingelstad, Ron Erhardt, Rod Hamilton, Bud Heidgerken and Neil Peterson were stripped of their committee leadership positions as a result of their refusal to sustain Governor Pawlenty’s veto.

Minority Leader Marty Seifert today announced, "I have spoken with all six members and received their resignations from their lead positions on House committees and in the Caucus."

Seifert announced the following members as the new Republican leads:

• Rep. Dean Urdahl - Agriculture, Rural Economies & Vets Affairs
• Rep. Larry Howes - Capital Investment
• Rep. Matt Dean - Health Care and Human Services
• Rep. Sondra Erickson - K-12 Finance
• Rep. Morrie Lanning - Property Tax Relief & Local Sales Taxes
• Rep. Pat Garofalo was named Assistant Minority Whip.

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Thank you Minority Leader Marty Seifert for exercising leadership of Minnesota Republicans. We are grateful for leaders who remove leaders who like to horse around with donkeys rather than move with the Elephant Herd. Now the grassroots must hold each of these six liberals responsible for sacking our pocketbooks and refuse to endorse them. If they don’t need us, we don’t need them. It’s time to clean house in the Republican Party and elect true conservatives. Minnesota and America will be better for it.

If this doesn't motivate the party base, nothing will. I suspect a large percentage of the independent middle will not be voting for the Dems this fall because they hijacked their hard-earned money.

House GOP Responds to Budget Deficit

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL FOR FISCAL RESTRAINT

Seifert Says: "Stop growing government. Start growing jobs."

Saint Paul - (November 30, 2007) - House Republican Leader Marty Seifert today said the state's $373 million budget deficit demands fiscal restraint and accountability in the upcoming legislative session.

"We need to spur the economy with business development and job growth," said House Republican Leader Marty Seifert. "Government should not grow at a faster rate than the private sector. Government needs to make sacrifices so we don't increase the tax burden on job creators and families. Our financial ground will continue to erode until we acknowledge that we cannot grow government and tax our way to prosperity.

"The state's budget forecast reflects the impact of a national economic slowdown that is being largely driven by slower projected economic growth, record high oil prices, an increasingly weak housing market and the resulting tightening on lending.

"Minnesotans across the state are seeing less discretionary income and that has a direct impact on the state's economy," Seifert said. "While businesses, families and farms are looking to tighten their budgets, the Democrats are working on plans to raise their taxes to fuel the growth of government."

Government spending has grown rapidly in the past 10 years. State general fund spending has increased nearly 40 percent in the last 10 years from $24 billion to $34.5 billion.

"Now is not the time to raise taxes. We do not need more money from taxpayers to fund unsustainable growth in government programs. We need to prioritize, cut wasteful government spending and use taxpayer dollars more efficiently," Seifert said.

Seifert said the budget deficit presents many challenges to the spending proposals and large bonding bill already being discussed for the next legislative session.

"The state budget should operate like the family budget. When there is less revenue, we spend less money," Seifert said. "The Democrats already spent the $34 billion in the state's budget and squandered away a $2 billion surplus. We simply do not have the money in the checkbook for more spending. The bonding bill must stay within the $965 million threshold. It should focus on fixing our state's core infrastructure needs. Festivals, theaters and ice rinks come in a distant second to funding for safe roads and bridges.

Seifert said the budget deficit could have been higher if the Democrats tax and spend proposals were all signed into law. Governor Tim Pawlenty line-itemed veto more than $32 million in spending and vetoed a pork-filled bonding bill.

"The Democrats overspent last session and then tried to raise our taxes," Seifert said. "Government doesn't need relief. Minnesotans do. We need to protect the taxpayer pocketbook, not use it as a never-ending cash machine."

Economic Forecast for Minnesota

You can find the November 2007 Economic Forecast at Minnesota’s Department of Finance. A budget deficit of $373 million is now projected for the biennium. Previously a balance of $294 million had been expected.

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert held a brief media response to the budget forecast. His comments include:

We do not need tax increases.

Sacrifices need to take place. The question being asked is who is doing the sacrificing? Republicans believe sacrifices need to take place within government. Democrats believe sacrifice happens with businesses and families.

Republicans and Governor Tim Pawlenty brought fiscal discipline to the legislative process last session. Without the Governor's line item vetoes, bonding bill vetoes the budget deficit could have been more than $500 million. We need fiscal accountability. The Democrats should stay within the debt limit of $965 million for the bonding bill. The bonding bill should be focused on infrastructure like roads and bridge. It would be irresponsible to blow that limit and put that much more on the state credit card.

All levels of government must live within their means — state, county and local.

The House GOP will look toward cuts in government spending to resolve this budget deficit. We talk about fiscal restraint but we need cuts in wasteful spending. FY2010-2011 has a projected major deficit. We need to prepare and get spending under control.

We will again bring fiscal discipline to session. There should be no permanent spending with one-term money, the bonding bill should stay within the debt limit and we don't need to raise taxes.


Sen. Dave Senjem also responded:

This is a wake up call.

We live in a highly taxed state. Our business climate is suffering. We rank 42 in the nation for business climate. We need to create investments in our business climate. We should be in the top 10. Business expansion is not happening in Minnesota because there are no incentives to grow business.

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This is good advice from our Republican leaders. By incentives, I assume Senjem means cutting government regulation and taxes that drive businesses out of the state. Minnesota needs to compete in a world economy. More importantly, Minnesota must compete with all other states. If Dems keep creating a deleterious climate for business, they will leave for other states that do not make business unprofitable.

We keep hearing the ads from Sioux Falls begging for business to leave Minnesota’s high tax rate behind. That’s not good for Minnesota, but Sioux Falls doesn’t realize it’s creating its own growth problems with congestion and the need for ever more infrastructure.

DEMOCRATS TURN A PART-TIME LEGISLATURE INTO A FULL-TIME JOB

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert Says: "It's time to cut government."

SAINT PAUL -- (November 7, 2007) -- Citing the more than 80 committees, subcommittees, working groups, task forces and commissions in the Minnesota House of Representatives, House Republican Leader Marty Seifert today criticized Democrats for the expansive and expensive growth in government.

"The explosive growth of government shows what happens when Democrats take over," said House Republican Leader Marty Seifert. "The complicated and bloated process is confusing to the public, time consuming and expensive. There is very little to show for the excessive amount of meetings taking place. When all is said and done, there will be a lot more said than done."

Seifert said it is nearly impossible to determine how many groups are working on legislation and how much this process is costing Minnesota taxpayers. To view the process, click here:

"There seems to be a lot of repetition without reason. We question the necessity of having so many subgroups working on legislation that a standing committee should be able to accomplish on its own and the great number of meetings being held at taxpayer expense to hear about the problems but not bring forward solutions," Seifert said. "The Democrats have turned a part-time citizen legislature into a full-time job."

Seifert said at a time when schools and nursing homes are struggling to make their budgets, House Democrats chose to almost double its operations budget from $324,000 to $646,000 during a House Rules Committee meeting in August.

"We gave schools a mere 3 percent increase for the biennium and nursing homes received even less than that but then gave gigantic increases to the Legislature," Seifert said. "This is a matter of priorities. The Democrats ran on fiscal responsibility and leadership. They have failed to demonstrate either during their reign of confusion in the Minnesota House. When House Republicans are in charge, we will restore fiscal sanity by cutting the number of committees by more than 50 percent and returning costs to prior levels."

Seifert said he is most concerned about the upcoming legislative session.

"We have important issues we need to resolve and this process doesn’t make me confident that we will achieve those results," Seifert said. "In the private sector, failing businesses are often over managed and under led. The more than 80 House Democrat committees are too busy mopping the floor to take time and turn off the faucet."

Source: Marty Seifert

Also look at the House Committee structure chart under Democrat "leadership."

Seifert Challenges Democrat Budget Priorities

SAINT PAUL – (August 17, 2007) -- House Republican Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) questioned the priorities of House Democrats today after DFLers doubled their committee budgets.

Seifert’s comments came on the heels of the DFL-controlled Rules Committee approving a near 100 percent increase in the House Committee budgets. The original budget increased from $324,000 to $646,000.

“This gross increase in legislative bureaucracy is excessive and unnecessary,” said House Republican Leader Marty Seifert. “I am shocked the House Democrats doubled their own budget at a time when families are trying to pay their property taxes and live within their means. We need investments in Minnesota, not investments in the Legislature.”

The House Rules Committee also approved a 7.75% pay raise for House employees, retroactive to August 1, 2007. In addition, Democrats approved additional pay increases to staff for 2008.

"I don't know a lot of regular, hard working Minnesotans getting back-to-back pay raises within a year,” Seifert said. "When I talk to truckers, waitresses and secretaries, I know that they are not getting these types of raises."

Another concern to Seifert is that House Democrats increased legislators’ gas payments for inner district travel. Under the formula, one rural Democrat lawmaker could take home over $1600 each month in district mileage.

"I find it ironic that the people who are trying the hardest to raise the price of gas by increasing gas taxes are the first to meet at the capitol and give themselves protection by raising their gas mileage payments, courtesy of the state treasury" Seifert said.

Seifert said he was very concerned about the timing and notice of the committee hearing. The hearing was held in a conference room without televised capability with inadequate notice to the public and little opportunity for public testimony.

"I think if the average person knew what Democrats were doing with their money, they would be outraged. Unfortunately, the Democrats think this is what voters want. They are absolutely wrong." Seifert said.